Trump claims Nvidia chief had no idea his paramour was a spy

President Donald Trump addressed reporters at the White House on Monday, confirming a phone call with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The conversation centered on allegations that Huang’s paramour, Alice Huang, worked for Chinese intelligence.

The president stated that Jensen Huang denied knowing the woman was a spy. Trump quoted the Nvidia chief directly, saying Huang told him, "I had no idea that she was a spy." The president added that he believes this account.

Trump suggested he had only recently become aware of the intelligence findings. He told reporters, "I didn't hear about it then, but a lot of people have heard about it, and Jensen totally denies that." He described his conversation with the CEO as a check-in to see how Huang was feeling.

The allegations trace back to a New York Times report on October 29. The newspaper stated that U.S. spy agencies believed Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed International, was steering advanced Nvidia AI chips to China. American officials concluded she was a Chinese intelligence asset funneling information to Beijing.

The Times reported that Trump was briefed on these findings approximately one year ago and chose not to act on the information. A separate memo from last spring, described by the newspaper, cited intelligence that Alice Huang was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security. The goal was to collect intelligence on the Nvidia CEO and influence the company to make its most advanced chips available to China.

Trump said he has been reading about the situation for a short time. He noted that the FBI is looking into the matter and expressed confidence that Jensen Huang will be in good shape. The president described Huang as suffering greatly, particularly because of his family and his wife.

When asked if he would raise the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping at their meeting next week in Shenzhen, Trump said he did not think so. He noted that Xi might ask him about it, but he felt confident in Huang's character and his standing as the head of a major American company.

The White House comments arrived the same day the Rosen Law Firm filed a class-action shareholder lawsuit in federal court in San Jose, California. The suit alleges that Nvidia and Jensen Huang made false or misleading statements regarding his affair and the company's relationship with Megaspeed. The firm claims these omissions presented a material risk to the company's reputation and business prospects.